SANCTUARY SPA MINIS HAUL

When it comes to my local Boots store, I'm pretty sure I could almost navigate my way through the make-up aisles blindfolded as I know them that well. However, I am not as well practised in the skincare shelves. I tend to stick to my tried and tested products and don't often branch out into new territory. So, as there is a huge 3 for 2 offer running now on facial skincare products I thought I would try some new things.

Sanctuary Spa is a brand which has been on my radar for a while. I was excited to see that the minis were included in the 3 for 2 offer as I love testing out skincare before I commit and these are all between £2-£3. I may have gone a little crazy - I practically got one of everything. Here's the run-down.

I don't think I can count the amount of YouTubers I've heard mention the 5 Minute Thermal Detox Mask and my interest has just peaked and peaked over time. I'm dying to test out the whole "thermal" heating face mask thing. I don't use masks half as often as I should and I'm hoping to get a couple of uses out of this little packet. I didn't stop at one mask, but I also picked up a sachet of the Moisture Boosting Mask. Now that the days are getting shorter and colder, I'll do anything to keep that moisture in my skin so I'm interested to see how this one goes. I love the simple and colourful packaging of this brand.

Next up, I grabbed some of the mini tube samples. You can see I'm really into moisture right now as I also purchased Illuminating Moisture Lotion. I've been loving my illuminating products and am eager to carry the summer glow into autumn. I love using a fuller coverage base but sandwiching it between illuminating products (brightening primers and highlighters galore). I also grabbed the Night Concentrate as I'm almost out of my current night cream and am looking to try something new.

Finally I picked up the Pore Refining Toner as I'm always keen to see if there's a toner which can compare to my Liz Earle favourite. I think I purchased almost every mini on the Sanctuary Spa stand, so hopefully I'll have a good idea of the brand once I've tried them all and maybe they'll even be a follow up post. Let me know if you want one!

Have you tried anything from Sanctuary Spa that you loved? Am I missing anything?

Tina xx

IN THE MAIL #2 - A SUPERDRUG ORDER

When it comes to ordering drugstore brands online, the Superdrug website is one of my favourites. You only need to spend £10 for free delivery and their points system is pretty awesome as every time you save up 100 points (which happens in no time in my case) you can take £1 off your total. And if that's not enough, they have a bunch of budget brands which you can't really get anywhere else as well as all the usual favourites.

I made a little order recently inspired by this post. As I mentioned, the Rimmel Moisure Renew lipsticks are some of my favourites from the drugstore but I hadn't tried any other nudes as I could only ever find Nude Delight in store. So, I took to the Superdrug website and purchased the only other nude they had in stock which was Notting Hill Nude. Since it was part of a buy one, get one for half price Rimmel offer, I had a look through the brand and finally settled on picking up the new-ish Kate Moss Shadow Stick in Rose Gold which is actually more of an amber than rose gold. I've been sort of the embracing these kinds of shades recently which is unlike me - expect a post soon.

L-R: Rimmel Notting Hill Nude Lipstick,
Rimmel Kate Shadow Stick in Rose Gold

Finally, to make up my £10 for free delivery, I thought I'd try the MakeUp Revolution Focus & Fix Eye Primer. An eyeshadow primer is a critical step in my make-up routine due to my very oily eyelids and I've been wanting to try this budget option for a while to see if it could rival its much more expensive NARS counterpart which I rely on. I chose to get the matte version as I thought this would suit me best - I'll update you with my thoughts.

And that's another In The Mail post done and dusted but expect another soon. Hope you enjoyed this, let me know if you've bought any new drugstore makeup recently!

Tina xx

A MINI BOOTS HAUL

You know when you go into Boots and actually come out with just the things you wanted? Well, today was that day for me. All three items from L'Oreal are ones that have been on my list for a while. Is it weird if I'm feeling a little proud of myself?

I've been on the hunt for a new liquid liner for a while as my much loved (and slightly dried out) L'Oreal Super Liner Perfect Slim is on its way out, but for one reason or another I haven't actually made it to the checkout with one until today. There's a number of different offers on in Boots right now (on practically every brand) but the L'Oreal offer stood out to me - "spend £9.99 on L'Oreal cosmetics and get the new Super Liner So Couture for free". Since I've already had success with the Super Liner line, I was more than happy to give the newest addition a whirl. Expect a review coming your way soon.

I had a browse over the L'Oreal stand to make up my £9.99, but ultimately it came down to nail polish. I've mentioned before that my nail polish collection is probably the only place I'm really lacking in terms of choice so I picked up two from the Coloriche line.

I've never really delved into the whole grey-beige colour scheme when it comes to nail polish and I've been wanting to for a while so I opted for Soft Chinchilla (£4.99) which looks like the perfect shade to test the "greige" waters. I've also been searching for a base coat as well so it made sense to try the 2-in-1 Protect (£5.99) bringing me to a respectable £10.98. I have to say it's nice to leave Boots with minimal guilt for once.

What was the last beauty product you purchased? Share in the comments!

Tina xx

BLOG SALE HAUL - VIDEO

Hopefully you've already checked out my blog sale (here if you haven't), but I also posted a video yesterday to co-inside. I recently did a bit of blog sale shopping of my own, and I hauled it for you in this video! I picked up loads of products (mainly lips I have to say) from across the pond, so thought I would share them with you. Hope you enjoy!

A POUNDLAND HAUL

Yes, you read it right. It's a Poundland haul. I'm about to tell you why you should always check the make-up section in one of the cheapest stores ever, because who doesn't love a bargain?

I initially went into Poundland to pick up some more plastic drawers which I use for storing some of my make-up. When re-organising my stash, I wanted a budget friendly way to store my bits and pieces and ended up finding these drawers in Poundland. I think they're made for the kitchen and although they are plastic and very basic in terms of material and function, they get the job done for now. (I'll upgrade to MUJI one day - sigh.) They're especially good for storing longer make-up items such as concealers, liners and mascaras. I believe these two bring me up to 8 of these little babies - £8 isn't so bad for storing the majority of my make-up, jewellery and hair bits.

The particular Poundland I visited is in a retail park which is never too busy, and it always seems to get the good make-up. I've had a look in different stores, and it's not always this good but definitely worth a look in your local. I mentioned a Rimmel product I picked up from Poundland in this post but today I got my hands on some L'Oreal eyeshadows. I sort of missed the whole L'Oreal Infabille Eyeshadow train as I'm not always one drawn to single eyeshadows and the shade selection, here in the UK, never really appealed to me. I can't tell you how many times I popped these into my shopping basket in Boots just to put them back again. I haven't seen them in-store for a while (although you can still get them online), and had the feeling I'd missed my chance but when I saw them in Poundland, I knew it was time.

If you haven't heard of these shadows, they are a pressed pigment right in-between a normal powder shadow and a loose pigment. They have, from what I've seen, been dubbed by bloggers as one of the best drugstore eyeshadows out there. There were five different shades up for grabs, and I picked up four only choosing to leave the bright blue. Two of the shades (the cream and grey) have a matte finish, and the others (turquoise and purple) iridescent. I can't wait to play with these and am so happy I waited to grab this bargain. I'm a big fan of the packaging - it looks much more luxury than it is and I'm even excited to try out the turquoise shade which actually looks quite wearable.

I was expecting a lot of pigment from these pressed pigments but it actually took a few swipes to build up these dry swatches. I've yet to try them wet, or on the eyes, so I'll hold my judgement until then. I can't deny that I love the concept of a pressed pigment. I have a few loose pigments which are all gorgeous but I don't reach for them too often mostly in fear for dropping them everywhere. This is a great way to get the results of a pigment with a little less mess. Expect a review coming soon.

What bargains have you picked up recently? Let me know in the comments!

DRUGSTORE HAUL + FIRST IMPRESSIONS

My newest video just went live, and it's a little drugstore haul with a load of really affordable products for anyone on a budget. I also included some mini reviews/first impressions on what I thought so far. The picture is just a little sneak preview but you got to watch to see the rest. Enjoy!